ACA: Noncompliant Insurance Plans OK for 2 More Years

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration issued Affordable Care Act regulations Wednesday that will allow consumers currently in plans that don't meet ACA requirements to keep those plans for another 2 years.

The regulations affect about 500,000 consumers who purchased individual health plans prior to the opening of the ACA's health exchanges. However, "the CBO [Congressional Budget Office] estimated that it's 1.5 million [people] if you combine the individual market and small-group [plans]" that were purchased by small employers, a senior administration official said on a background-only conference call with reporters Wednesday.

Last November, the Obama administration announced that insurers could reissue these noncompliant plans -- as long as the policyholder's state government allowed it -- for 2014. The new rule further extends that for another 2 years, allowing the plans to continue to be reissued through Oct. 1, 2016.

The regulations also:

Adjust the "risk corridors" program to account for more people being enrolled in noncompliant plans. The risk corridors program -- which is designed to be budget-neutral -- stabilizes health insurance premiums by paying money to insurers who set premiums too low and collecting money from insurers who set premiums too high.

Simplify reporting requirements for large employers -- those with over 50 workers -- who are mandated to offer health insurance coverage to employees.

Expand the plan choices available to employees who get their health insurance through the Small Business Health Options (SHOP) insurance program.

Administration officials denied that the announcement of the changes -- especially the extension of noncompliant plan enrollment -- had anything to do with the upcoming midterm elections. "We're extending this to give people more opportunities to make a judgment about the kind of coverage that works best for them and their families," an official said.

There are no other major changes anticipated in the ACA for the rest of 2014, according to officials on the conference call.

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